A Memory of Flying
by illrain666
Summary: Tamao Serizawa has left Suzuran and his past behind long ago. But sometimes, when he closes his eyes, he remembers flying.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I've had this floating around my head for a while and I thought I should just go ahead and post it though it's not yet done. So I apologize for its rawness and incompleteness. Anyway, about the story: I've only based it on what I've seen from the Crows films and I've never read the manga so it's going to be completely AU and even OOC. I took inspiration from Peter Pan for this, especially from the parts when the Lost Boys grew up because, of course, those Suzuran boys lived in their own Neverland, right? The focus is going to be on Tamao Serizawa because he's my favorite character from the films, plus Takayuki Yamada is just generally awesome. But enough of this note. On with the story.

oOo

A Memory of Flying

oOo

_"Serizawa!"_

Tamao sighed, mentally counted from one to ten, then looked up from his computer. "What can I do for you, Captain?" he said in the politest tone he could muster.

It must have sounded too polite, and probably a bit sarcastic as well, because Kuroiwa's signature facial tic immediately appeared. It was obvious the older man was suddenly and extremely irritated by the mere fact that he had been confronted once again by the indisputable evidence of Tamao's reformation from a foul-mouthed delinquent to a well-spoken and upstanding member of the community—who also happened to be a detective working in Kuroiwa's department.

"I've got an assignment for you," Kuroiwa all but sneered. He dropped the folder he was holding right on top of Tamao's keyboard. "Maybe your fancy American training can prove to be useful. Don't mess this up." Then he stalked off, snapping at everyone as they scurried to get out of his way.

Tamao sighed again and picked up the folder while Takashi Endo, the detective seated across from his desk, laughed. "Someday," the other man said, "you _have_ to tell me the whole story about what you did to make Kuroiwa hate you so much. The man put off his retirement once you reported to work here, said that he didn't trust you not to ruin the department somehow. So, what's the story then? Give me the highlights, at least."

"I told you," Tamao responded, setting the unopened folder to one side of his desk so he could finish typing a report, "he arrested me for getting into trouble when I was younger."

"Yes, but you've never shared any details," Takashi pointed out. "What did he arrest you for? What did you do? I could dig up your old records, of course, and find out that way, but I'd prefer to hear whatever crazy explanations you can come up with."

"You really want to know?" Tamao stopped typing and fixed Takashi with a serious stare.

"Absolutely! What dark secrets from his past does our department's golden boy hide behind his pretty face?" Takashi taunted. He was always teasing Tamao about his obsessive compulsive tendencies and his neat appearance. He also thought it was funny that everyone else in the department was impressed by Tamao's accomplishments, but Kuroiwa treated their youngest detective like he was a ticking time bomb.

"All right," Tamao nodded. He had gotten thoroughly sick of Takashi's constant questions about the subject, so perhaps it was high time to satisfy the man's curiosity and enjoy a little peace during his work day. "I'll tell you. Give me a few seconds first." He carefully saved his report, exited the program he was using, and locked his computer while the other detective watched him with amusement. Then he straightened the position of his keyboard, adjusted his glasses, and finally faced Takashi again. "Okay then." He took a breath before he continued speaking. "One time," he began, "when I was still in high school, I took a friend's bike and went for a ride. I almost crashed into Captain Kuroiwa's car, though he was still a detective when the whole thing happened, and he chased me when I drove away. Then," Tamao suddenly spoke in a rush, "he dared me to play chicken, so we did, his car flipped over, and he showed up to arrest me in school with half of the police force. The end."

"Wait, what?" Takashi looked flabbergasted for a moment, and then he suddenly burst out laughing. "_Oh. My God._" He was laughing so hard that everyone in the office began to stare at him curiously. From the corner of his eye, Tamao could see that Kuroiwa was also glaring at them through the glass walls of his office.

"Okay, now you know what happened," he growled at Takashi. "Now stop laughing. Kuroiwa's looking this way."

Takashi only laughed harder. His entire body shook with mirth and he wiped tears from his eyes. "You–played chicken–with Kuroiwa–and _he lost_!" he gasped out between guffaws. "Kuroiwa–the meanest–old bastard–in the entire force–_lost_!"

"For God's sake, stop laughing already!" Tamao was seriously starting to consider strangling the other man just so he would quiet down.

"Endo!" Kuroiwa's voice boomed throughout the entire office and everyone suddenly went very still. It became so silent that only the Captain's harsh breathing could be heard as he stood by his now open door. "If I ever hear you laughing again, if I ever see you smiling," Kuroiwa snarled, "I will glue your badge to your fucking mouth! Do you understand me, you little shit?"

Takashi gulped. "Sir," he nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand, sir."

Kuroiwa grumbled something unintelligible and then slammed the door shut loudly. Everyone waited for about ten seconds to make sure he wasn't coming out of his office again, and then they resumed what they were doing before the Captain's latest explosion—very, very quietly.

Tamao glared at Takashi. "You could have gotten us both in a lot of trouble, you know," he muttered darkly. "I'm already on the old man's shit list. I don't need to give him more reasons to make my life difficult."

"Man, I'm sorry," Takashi said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "But, oh, your story was awesome. Was that even the truth?"

"Of course!" Tamao snapped. "Why would I lie about that? Now will you please just let it go?"

"Okay. Okay. Sure. But," Takashi held up a finger, "just one last thing. So he went to your school to arrest you, and he brought like half the cops on the force with him. Why? That's a bit extreme even for Kuroiwa."

Tamao grabbed the folder and looked down at it. "He probably didn't want any trouble when he came to my school," he mumbled.

"Huh?" Takashi frowned. "What sort of trouble could the old man have been expecting in your school?"

"I went to Suzuran," Tamao said curtly and looked up in time to see Takashi's jaw drop in shock.

_"Suzuran?!"_ the other man exclaimed. "The one people call the School of Crows? Where all the delinquents go?"

"Yes," Tamao replied testily, bracing himself for all the usual questions people asked whenever they found out he went to high school in Suzuran. He absolutely hated this part.

But Takashi surprised him. "Good God. How often did you get beat up?"

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, obviously," Takashi shrugged, "you must have gotten beat up a lot. I can imagine how you must have looked like back then—wearing glasses, with floppy hair, good with computers, the classroom do-gooder. Man, you must have had a rough time."

In his mind, Tamao could clearly see himself stand up, pick up his keyboard, and then smash it against Takashi's mustached face. But he did none of those things. Instead, he fidgeted nervously in his seat for a few seconds, flexed his hands, and did some breathing exercises that never failed to calm him down. When his urge to violently pummel Takashi had passed, he gave the detective a thin-lipped smile. "Going to school in Suzuran was certainly an interesting, character-forming experience," he said calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to read up on this new assignment." He tapped the folder with his fingers.

"All right," Takashi sighed. "Be a bore and go do your good boy detective thing. I have to be somewhere else anyway." He picked up his jacket and car keys. "Want to meet me later for drinks?" he invited.

"Sorry, but I already promised to meet some friends later. Maybe next time."

"Okay. See you." Takashi left and Tamao was finally alone with his own thoughts.

He supposed that he should not have been so surprised at Takashi's reaction upon learning where he had gone to high school. He certainly bore little resemblance to the violent young punk he used to be long ago. After graduating from Suzuran, he had quickly learned that not all problems could be solved by beating up someone. Also, he had had to fend for himself once his friends all went off to college and he couldn't mooch off them anymore. So he had tried to sign up for the Jieitai, where he knew he could at least make enough money to eat three meals a day, and when he actually got in, something entirely unexpected happened.

Tamao Serizawa, Suzuran's notorious King of Beasts, learned that discipline was not a dirty word. Also, he discovered to his pleasant surprise that he hadn't completely damaged his brain from all the fights he had gotten himself into and that it still worked quite well. After two years in the Jieitai, he quit and joined the police force where he worked twice as hard as everyone he knew, so that now he was a detective and life, though not perfect by any means, was not too bad. Except for Kuroiwa breathing down his neck and practically holding up a crucifix to ward him off every time he walked by. It was like the old man had never learned about the concept of forgiveness in his whole life.

Sighing for the third time, Tamao looked down at the folder he was holding and flipped it open. The face on the photograph leaped out at him immediately and he made a little noise of surprise.

"Ruka Aizawa," he read the label underneath her picture, as if he didn't already know who she was. Hell, as if anyone in the country needed to be told who she was.

The last time he had seen her was during his friend Tokio's farewell party before Tokio left to study in America. This was several years ago, when she was just Genji Takiya's girlfriend who sometimes sang in a club to make some extra money. Then Genji's father, Hideo, had pulled some strings and gotten her a contract with a talent agency. Her relationship with his old school rival hadn't lasted long after she started becoming famous, but her career certainly had. She was now one of the most successful performers in Japan and her face was plastered on gigantic billboards everywhere that Tamao went. So what kind of trouble could she possibly be in that required a police investigation?

As he read the files Kuroiwa had handed to him, he began to piece together the main facts about the case. Two months ago, she had started to receive letters from one particular fan. At first, Ruka had dismissed them as the typical declarations of a lovestruck admirer, but then things had taken a darker turn. The fan, who only identified himself as Ichi, began leaving gifts outside Ruka's home. Sometimes, there would be flowers; at other times, there would be sweets and pastries. These developments still didn't cause any alarm until Ruka woke up one day and saw that someone had left a bottle of red liquid on the table beside her bed. The note beside the bottle had been written in blood, and the bottle itself contained blood. Ruka had understandably freaked out, her manager had called the police, and forensics had determined that the blood on the note and the blood in the bottle were of different types. Both, however, were of human origin.

Things had gradually gotten worse after that disturbing incident. Ichi began to send Ruka pictures he had taken of her going about her day, with bloody love notes written on the back of each photo. He also continued sending her sweets, which were injected with blood as well. It had now gotten to the point where Ruka refused to leave her newly fortified house and her manager regularly called the police to berate them for not catching the stalker yet.

After reading all the reports about the case and making a few notes, Tamao closed the folder. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily for a few seconds. This investigation was not going to be easy. Aside from the items Ruka kept receiving, there were no other clues that could help him figure out Ichi's real identity. He cursed under his breath. He hated cases like this one. It had all the potential to end up as a huge mess which, now that he thought about it, was probably why Kuroiwa had assigned it to him.

His phone rang at that moment and, after putting his glasses back on, he picked it up and hit the answer button. "Serizawa here," he said.

"Tamao!" Tokio exclaimed in greeting. "Hey, where are you? Everyone's already here. Hurry up or you'll miss the strippers."

_Strippers_. He closed his eyes briefly. Of course, there _would_ be strippers. Why was he even surprised? "I'm on my way," he replied unenthusiastically. "And when you say _everyone_, who are they exactly?" He began to tidy up his desk as he got ready to leave.

"Everyone!" Tokio repeated cheerfully but without going into any detail. "It's a big old gang reunion tonight. So get here now!"

"All right. I'll be there in thirty minutes," he promised. Tamao made sure one last time that everything was put away and in its proper place on his desk and then he left the office. While he drove, he wondered just who had showed up for Tokio's bachelor party. After leaving Suzuran, all of them had pretty much gone their separate ways, only keeping in touch sporadically. He hadn't seen most of the old gang in years, except for Tokio once he came back from studying in America, and that one weird encounter a few months ago with Yuji Tokaji, who had been arguing with Shun Izaki in a grocery store, of all places.

As for the others, Tamao knew that Genji had tried to run his father's Yakuza for a few years, but eventually he had discovered that he didn't quite have the stomach for it. Genji may be overly ambitious and he could be a mean jerk sometimes, but he wasn't cut out to be a criminal. He wasn't exactly the expressive type as well, but everyone who got to know him quickly discovered that he cared about the people in his charge too much. So it wasn't really a surprise when he decided to go legit and drag the rest of the organization with him. Now he was a well-regarded businessman—one with too many thuggish-looking bodyguards, yes, but still completely respectable.

Chuta Tamura worked for Genji as a personal assistant and was surprisingly competent at his job, while Takashi Makise, to the great amazement of all, was now a teacher in some fancy girls' school where he was incredibly popular with his students. However, Chuta kept a pot running on Makise eventually getting fired with the gang betting on various reasons for his termination. The Mikami brothers, who owned and ran a string of karaoke bars, were certain that it would involve perverted sexual acts with underage girls. Tokio, now a doctor, was sure that it would be because of an overly concerned rich parent finding out that Makise was a former Suzuran student. Tokaji, who worked as a programmer, simply believed that Makise would be fired for being "an ugly freak", but after getting a disapproving glare from Izaki, also a programmer and his roommate, changed his bet to Makise "being an ugly, creepy sex freak". Shoji Tsutsomoto, who had moved to South Korea to work for an electronics firm years ago, kept sending them emails suggesting one outrageous idea after another, ranging from general incompetence to an elaborate theory that somehow ended in a zombie apocalypse. Tamao was the only one who had his money on Makise keeping his job.

Once he finally arrived at the bar where Tokio was having his bachelor party, he saw just what his friend meant when he said everyone was already there.

Genji looked mildly constipated with a polite little smile while Chuta was telling some kind of funny story, most probably involving Genji and his latest awkward misadventures with women. Makise was listening intently and trying to drink his beer at the same time, and he ended up squirting the liquid through his nose once Chuta recounted the high point of his story. Tokaji and Izaki were having an argument, as usual, and the Mikami twins seemed to be scoring them as they hurled insults at each other. Tokio was chatting amiably with both Gota Washio, who worked with him in the same hospital as an anesthesiologist, and Ken Katagiri, much older and even a bit wiser now but still with terrible fashion sense. Tamao also saw that Tokio had even invited Rindaman and those three uppity freshmen, who were all getting a lot of attention from the dancers and enjoying themselves immensely.

"Serizawa."

Startled, he turned at the sound of his name and immediately tensed.

Taiga Narumi smirked at him. "It's been a long time," his old enemy from Housen said. "I like the glasses. They make you look manly."

Inwardly, Tamao groaned. "Please don't tell me Tokio invited you, too."

"He invited _everyone_ on Facebook," Taiga replied then strutted past him to say hello to Tokio.

Tamao shook his head in exasperation. Trust Tokio to somehow find a way to rope them all together and get them in one place. He was still standing by the door when Ryo Urushibara arrived, followed by Tatsuya Bitou. Each regarded him coolly before nodding and then joining the rest of their party. The whole thing was surreal.

"Tamao!" Tokio shouted out in greeting. "What are you doing over there? Come and say hello to everyone!"

Not for the first or for the last time that night, Tamao sighed. This was surely going to be one excruciating reunion.


	2. Chapter 2

A Memory of Flying

oOo

The morning sunlight struck Tamao's eyes and he winced. He stood for a moment outside his apartment door and took a few deep breaths. His hangover was killing him and he only had himself to blame for his current condition. He had thought last night that getting drunk would help him deal better with the awkward reunion of his old school friends and enemies, but that had turned out to be a disastrous decision. Most of the memories were thankfully too hazy to make much sense, but he had the uncomfortable certainty that some embarrassing singing had occurred and Tokio had captured irrefutable evidence of it on his phone. There was really no other choice for him but to hunt Tokio down and kill him before his evil, absolutely no-good friend could use that evidence to blackmail him into doing something worse than singing, like perhaps attending another reunion.

However, the hunting and killing of Tokio Tatsukawa had to wait because right now he had an appointment to get to. He had called Oki Fukuda, Ruka's manager, earlier and set up a meeting. He wanted to interview the two of them and see if maybe they could provide him with any additional clues about Ruka's stalker that they may not even know they had. So he simply tried his best to ignore his throbbing headache, which was still tormenting him even after he had taken a fistful of aspirins for it, and drove very carefully and slowly to the address Fukuda had given him.

Ruka lived in a very fancy community, which was physically just a few miles away from her old family house but might as well be worlds apart from the place where she had grown up. The whole neighborhood practically smelled of money and designer perfume, Tamao fancied, as he drove past exclusive boutiques, cozy restaurants, and imposing residences. Following the driving directions dictated by his phone, he turned left past a small intersection and found himself in a quiet, tree-lined street where the houses were concealed behind tall ivy-covered gates and walls. It was all quite impressive, he had to admit, but also a bit claustrophobic. He briefly wondered how Ruka could stand the isolation. He seemed to remember that she had lived in a messy little house with a store that was open to the street. All this privacy necessitated by fame must have required an adjustment.

There was a discreetly positioned camera by the gates leading to Ruka's house as well as an intercom system that he assumed he needed to use to announce his arrival. However, Tamao just flashed his badge at the camera and waited for about a minute before the gates opened to admit him. He drove up the driveway slowly so he could get a good look at the grounds, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The garden was fashioned to look both modern and traditional with smooth swirls of green grass resembling islands in a sea of neatly raked white and gray pebbles. There was no place for a stalker to hide anywhere, so how did Ichi break into the house unnoticed?

When he finally reached the house, a handsome, well-dressed older man whom he recognized from the case file photos as Oki Fukuda was standing right outside the open front door. Ruka's manager waved and smiled when he saw that Tamao had seen him, and he waited patiently while the detective parked his car. Then he smiled again and called out a greeting as Tamao approached him. "Good morning! It's Detective Serizawa, correct?" he said. He had a friendly, open face which made him appear boyish and younger than his actual age.

Tamao gave him a short bow. "Yes. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Fukuda."

"Please, call me Oki." Fukuda gestured for Tamao to follow him into the house. "Ruka is having breakfast right now. She wants you to join her." He quickly led Tamao through the front door and past a hallway decorated with miniature paintings of landscapes and seascapes. They made their way to a spacious kitchen with skylights that gave the whole place a cheerful early morning glow where Ruka sat waiting for them by a large table. A breakfast consisting of pancakes, waffles, and fruits was spread out before her, which she was ignoring in favor of sipping some fragrant ginger tea which Tamao suddenly wanted to drink more than anything. Not only did the tea smell delicious, but it was just the right thing to soothe his throbbing head.

He waited quietly while Fukuda made the proper introductions and Ruka invited him to sit, then he gratefully accepted the offer of tea. After one sip, he started feeling, if not better, then at least well enough to face the day without wincing at every sudden sound. Mentally, he swore again that he would never, ever drink another drop of alcohol for as long as he lived.

"Did you have a rough night, Detective?" Ruka suddenly asked, her dark eyes twinkling at him over her cup of tea.

He grimaced. He didn't want her to think he was unprofessional enough to come to a meeting with a hangover, but he also couldn't come up with a good excuse that would explain his current state. So he merely smiled and said, "It's just a slight headache, Miss Aizawa."

"Call me Ruka. You know, Genji didn't sound too good himself when I spoke to him earlier," she told him. "So I'm guessing you boys had a great time last night."

He stilled, the tea cup frozen momentarily on the way to his lips. "You spoke to Genji?" He was quite surprised.

"Yes," she nodded with a little amused smile at his wide-eyed expression. "We're still friends."

Fukuda was frowning at the two of them. "Do you two know each other?"

"We do." It was Ruka who answered. "He went to school with Genji, my old boyfriend."

Fukuda's frown deepened. "Genji? Genji Takiya? That man with the scary bodyguards who follow him everywhere?"

"Yes." Maybe it was just Tamao's imagination, but a bit of an edge seemed to have crept into Ruka's voice.

"Haven't we already spoken of this before?" Fukuda sounded very disapproving, and disappointed. "I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't have anything more to do with that man. He has a certain reputation that could harm yours if the press ever found out you associated with him."

"He is an old friend," Ruka replied testily, though Tamao could see that she was trying her best to rein in her temper. "I never agreed to stop associating with him and I never will. This is not your decision to make, Oki."

Instantly, Fukuda was apologetic. "Forgive me, Ruka-chan." He gave her a little bow, which she acknowledged with a curt nod after a moment's hesitation. Fukuda then smiled at her ruefully, but Ruka didn't return it.

She set her teacup down with more force than was warranted. "Perhaps you could leave me with the Detective for a few minutes?" Her tone, though, made it clear that it wasn't a request. "He may wish to ask me some questions in confidence."

Fukuda's face flushed. Silently, he stood up and bowed once more to Ruka, then he walked out of the kitchen with a stiff gait. Embarrassment was written on every line of his body. He had been dismissed, and it clearly galled him.

Well, well. Tamao leaned back on his chair. That was certainly an interesting little exchange. He suddenly became very curious about the exact relationship between Ruka and her manager. There were emotions there that seemed to go beyond a mere professional partnership.

"I apologize," Ruka now said to him, looking flustered. "You should not have seen us arguing like that. Oki and I usually get along so well, but the stress of these past few weeks—" she shrugged and her words trailed off.

Tamao gave her a reassuring smile. "I understand that both of you must be dealing with a lot these days. There is no need to apologize."

A brief smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, Serizawa-san. You are kind to say that."

"Please, you may call me Tamao," he told her. He gave her a minute to compose herself once more, then he began asking his questions. He learned the same things he had already read in the case file. Ruka knew of no one who would wish to terrorize her like Ichi was doing. Though she acknowledged that she had some rivals in showbusiness, she was certain that these people would not go so far as to stalk her or threaten her with violence.

"Every person in the business has two faces," she candidly admitted to him. "The face we present to the public, to our fans, is our good, well-behaved face. Everyone in the business knows it's a lie, but no one would ever do anything to destroy this illusion. If anyone is ever exposed as being less than perfect, a lot of people would suffer the consequences. For instance, if people were ever to find out that Ruka Aizawa got her start because a Yakuza boss sponsored her and paid for the production of her first album, everyone she has ever worked with and associated with would be tainted by it. Worse than that, the fans could turn on me, and all my shows and movies and concerts and endorsements would suddenly be unpopular and a lot of people would lose money because of it. What I'm trying to say here, Detective, is that I am a very expensive and profitable investment for many, many people. They would not do anything to harm me in any way because they would end up harming themselves and losing one of the biggest moneymakers they've had in years."

He nodded. He hadn't really thought that Ichi was one of Ruka's colleagues in her glamorous profession—though it certainly would have made his job easier. A jealous rival, or a co-worker with a grudge, was easier to understand than a mentally disturbed individual who thought that courtship entailed offerings of blood. Furthermore, the former type would be more predictable and thus easier to catch than the latter.

"Tell me more about Fukuda-san," he then prompted. He had purposely waited until Ruka was comfortable answering his questions before he broached the subject of her manager.

She gave him a sharp look. Tamao saw irritation flash across her face when she realized that he had effectively trapped her into discussing her manager as openly as she had talked about the other people in her life. She hadn't hesitated to tell him about her boyfriends when he had asked about them, so to refuse to talk about Oki Fukuda now would only seem suspicious.

"What do you want to know about him?" she said with a resigned little shrug.

"When did you first meet? How did he become your manager? What sort of relationship do you have? You know, anything that you think I ought to know," he replied casually.

"He's actually the second manager my agency assigned to me," she told Tamao. "My first manager, Goro Tatsuyama, died in a hotel fire three years ago. At first, Oki and I didn't get along because I was very fond of Goro-san, so I resented his replacement. Also, Oki was very loyal to the agency back then. He would spy on me and report back to the bosses that I had spent the night in a boyfriend's apartment, or I left the house without makeup, every single move I made. It was infuriating. Eventually, though, we became close and he's now more loyal to me than to the agency."

"Just how close are the two of you?" Tamao asked, though he thought he could make a pretty smart guess based on Fukuda's behavior when the man found out Ruka still talked to Genji.

She smiled at him coolly. "Boyfriends come and go, Serizawa-san, especially in my business. But a loyal person, a man who stays by your side no matter what, has to be won. And I won Oki. So before you ask, because I know that's what you're leading up to, Oki is not Ichi and has absolutely nothing to do with Ichi. He would never hurt me in any way."

He could see that she completely believed what she was saying. He hoped for her sake that it was the truth.


End file.
